Tattoo guns, drugs found in NSW jails

Tattoo guns, USB sticks and steroids have been seized from prisoners as authorities step up raids in NSW jails.

The crackdown on contraband possession over the last year has left 198 prisoners facing criminal charges, corrective services says.

More than 92,500 searches of prisoners, cells and common areas were carried out by officers and sniffer dogs from the Security Operations Group unit (SOG) in 2012.

Other items found included weapons, syringes, illicit drugs, mobile phones, money and alcohol.

"We are increasing our searches, beefing up our search methods and using strong intelligence to stay on top of the new and devious ways prisoners attempt to hide contraband," NSW Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Severin said in a statement.

"Our message to inmates is, `we'll find it and you'll face consequences including more jail time and loss of privileges'," he said.

"We're also searching visitors attempting to bring contraband in."

Prisoners found to be in possession can face penalties including loss of privileges, confinement or cancellation of wages.